The setup and calibration of an electronic testing machine is known to be a difficult and time consuming task. Typically, the setup and calibration process includes one or more of the tasks of contact alignment and verification, voltage source calibration and verification, current source calibration and verification, insulation resistance (IR) leakage measurement calibration and verification, and source and measurement compensation.
Currently it is known to perform alignment verification using software alignment with an upper contact alignment tool that uses a row of parts in a test plate and contact check to automate the alignment measurement, but this tool does not work on passive stations. It is also known to perform source verification by manually using a digital voltage meter (DVM) to measure voltage and current, which is a labor intensive effort since each contact must be manually probed with leads and measurements written down. Wiring is also known to be a major source of faults. It is known to perform measurement verification for leakage by testing the measurement card on the system with a precision resistor to be connected into the cable. This is a time consuming task requiring the precision resistor to be swapped numerous times, by way of example and not limitation, such as 256 times for systems having 64 channels and 4 ranges. The results of the measurements are manually recorded. This does not test the measurement card in isolation, but includes noise and voltage level errors from the source. It is known to perform measurement verification for compensation by manually inserting parts into a test plate, for example in order to perform a part-present contact check verification, or capacitance and dissipation measurement verification (CD). It is known that to perform measurement verification for calibration requires a technician to have access to the electronic testing machine in order to connect test cables and instruments. A port is typically connected to an external computer that performs the calibration. This is a semi automatic task that requires the technician to swap a large number of cables during the calibration sequence.
It would be desirable to provide a quick way to check whether wires are crossed, or in poor condition, or to check for any cable discontinuity in the electronic testing machine. It would be desirable to provide a process for checking the accuracy of the measurement card in isolation. It would be desirable to directly source a current from a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) calibrated “Keithley” source to test the measurement card in isolation.